Burlington House Prep School

Burlington House School was formerly known as The Moat School.

Often, children with dyslexia have an incredible sense of creativity, beyond average expressionism and an aptitude for many school subjects. At The Moat School we aim to bring out a pupil's inner brilliance whilst supporting them where they need it.

We recognise that SpLD learners often face great difficulties closing the gap between their potential and their performance. Therefore, every aspect of the education provided by The Moat School is designed to support pupils whilst they meet the challenge of bridging this gap.

An integrated support system of Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Counsellors are part of the day to day dedicated Moat team. Having this resource on site across both The Moat School and The Moat Sixth Form, means that specialist support is a familiar part of our pupils’  experience.

The Moat Sixth Form was launched in September 2020 and was set up as a space for young adults with SpLDs and other associated needs to study both A-Level and Btec subjects alongside a robust work experience programme, heavily involved in the local community and the wider London area. This is all set alongside a mature and independent college environment, whilst still providing all the specialist support The Moat has become associated with.

Pupils at The Moat Sixth Form have the opportunity to resit their core GCSE subjects whilst still studying for their nominated subjects.

The Moat’s main ethos is to deliver a bespoke programme for each pupil whilst still following the national curriculum. This allows all our pupils to access and excel in the subjects that they may have struggled with in a  traditional mainstream setting.

This bespoke curriculum includes a constantly evolving programme of support working alongside SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulties) trained subject teachers and on site specialist support staff. Teaching assistants are assigned to each class and also to individual pupils who may require 1-1 support. This adult support is increased by our policy of a maximum of 12 in a class allowing pupils to have individual attention from subject leaders and learning support in every classroom.

The Moat School’s curriculum follows the same formula of the national curriculum with some important changes to allow pupils to succeed, our school day has built in periods for extra curricular activities allowing pupils to develop alternative skills and to pursue their own passions. These sessions are referred to as ‘enrichments’ and range from digital art to dog walking. These extra classes are staff run and often are heavily influenced by their diverse and expert own experience. The broad spectrum of staff at the school not only enriches our pupils' education but opens their minds to alternative career paths and experiences they would otherwise not be able to access.

Included in these enrichments sessions is The Moat’s well established Duke of Edinburgh Award programme and, as an accredited assessment centre with several qualified staff assessors, The Moat is in a unique position to autonomously run its programme for all pupils from Bronze through to Gold awards, and launching expeditions several times a year to a wide variety of environments across the UK. The Moat Sixth Form will offer its Gold award programme for all incoming pupils as an important additional qualification for many of the students as they apply for further education and future careers.

Our core subject classes use a series of methods to support alternative learning processes, whether that be assistive technology or 1-1 support, we use as many tools at our disposal to support learners whose difficulties with dyslexia and other associated SpLDs may make accessing these subjects more difficult. Teachers use a variety of engaging, and entertaining alternatives to traditional learning methods, each of which is tailored to a class or pupil’s ability and learning style.

The Moat’s main focus is to provide a mainstream-style, academically concentrated, educational setting with a strong specialist nature built into the fabric of the school.

Pupils at The Moat and The Moat Sixth Form are aspirational and engaged in learning at their own pace, this allows them to keep and build upon their passion for learning as time progresses as they head towards further education and careers which we are proud to have been a part of.